Safety razor for receiving blades from a magazine



April 20, 1965 B. J. CRAIG 3,178,814

SAFETY RAZOR FOR RECEIVING BLADES FORM A MAGAZINE Filed Sept. 11, 1963 United States Patent 3,178,814 SAFETY RAZOR FOR RECEIVING BLADES FROM A MAGAZINE Burnie J. Craig, 1042 La Presa Drive, Pasadena, Calif. Filed Sept. 11, 1963, Ser. No. 308,258 2 Claims. (Cl. 30-62) This invention relates to safety razors and particularly to safety razors of the injector type in which new blades are fed onto a blade seat from a magazine containing blades.

The general object of the invention is to provide a razor inci-uding a front portion and a clamping member rear portion spaced from the front portion to form a slot in which a depending portion on a blade seat is movably arranged. The depending portion of the blade seat member has a transversely extending shoulder thereon. The shoulder has a lower front corner disposed below the blade seat portion and arranged in advance of the blade seat member depending rear portion. The upper end of the front portion laps and yieldingly engages the lower corner of the shoulder on the blade seat member depending portion. The front portion is biased to move rearwardly and consequently urges the blade seat member rearwardly and upwardly to securely hold a blade on the blade seat member in shaving position.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation partly in section showing a razor embodying the features of the invention;

"FIG. 2 is a perspective View showing the blade seat member;

FIG. 3 is a section of the blade seat member taken on line 33, FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an extended elevational view showing the parts separated prior to assembly;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view on a reduced scale showing the razor;

FIG. 6 is an elevation showing the blade magazine;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary elevational view like FIG. 1 showing a modification;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary sectional view, similar to FIG. 1, showing another modification;

P16. 9 is a view, partly in elevation and partly in section, similar to FIG. 1 showing a further modification; and

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the stop member.

Referring to the drawing by reference characters the invention is shown as embodied in a razor of the injector type which is indicated generally as at 18. The razor includes a handle 11 and a head 12.

The handle includes an elongated body 13 which is preferably curved and at its upper end includes a front portion 14 and (a rear portion 15 which are spaced apart to form a slot 16. The lower wall of the slot is indicated Intermediate the length of the front portion 14 there is a shoulder 18. An upwardly projecting portion 19 on the front portion 14 is spaced from the rear portion to form a slot 19a. The lower end of the slot 1% is closed by the shoulder 18. The upper end of the front portion above the portion 19 is bent forwardly as at 20. The portion 29 has 2. preferably plane inclined upper face 21 for a purpose to be described later. The rear portion 15 at its upper end includes a shoulder 22 which is shown as substantially opposite to the shoulder 18 on the front portion.

The head 12 includes a body 25 which serves as a blade clamping member and has a depending portion 26 thereon.

At the lower portion of the body there is a shoulder 27. The depending portion 26 is of a size to fit snugly into the slot 16 with the shoulders 22 and 27 shown as aligned and abutted. The body 25 includes a forwardly projecting blade engaging portion 29 which terminates in a clamping tip 30.

The body 25 on its inner face includes a groove 31 which is adapted to receive a finger 32 on a blade magazine 33. The upper end of the groove 31 provides a shoulder 34. The body 25 above the shoulder 34 has a hole 35 which intersects the shoulder. A stop member 36 is secured in the hole 35. The upper portion of the stop member 36 is cylindrical and the lower portion is substantially semi-cylindrical with the front 37 of the semicylindrical portion slightly rounded and positioned slightly in advance of the shoulder 34. The front 37 of the stop member engages the rear edge of a razor blade 38 mounted on a blade seat portion 39 on a blade seat member 40 which will be presently described.

The stop member may be made of metal or of plastic and is preferably made of material which is harder than the material of which the clamping member is made so that the rear edge of the razor blade will not sink into the stop member to any great extent.

The handle 11 and the head 12 may be formed in a column as by extrusion, or by molding. When the parts are formed by extrusion the handles 11 after sepanation may be trimmed from the dotted line position indicated at 41, as in FIG. 5, to the solid line position shown in that figure. The head member 12 may be similarly trimmed.

The front portion 14 and the rear portion 15 may be made of suitable material such as metal or plastic. If plastic is used it may be polypropylene, polyethylene, Plexiglas, Celcon, nylon, styrene, or similar material which has suitable characteristics.

The portions 14 and 15 may be made of the same material or of different materials. It is preferable that the portion 19 be made of a material so that it may move for ward and backward to a limited extent and may be biased to move in one direction.

The portion 25 is preferably more or less rigid as regards the portion 19 and the portions are preferably made so that the portions 20 and 25 may cooperate to securely and firmly hold a blade upon the blade seat 39, to be presently described.

The portions 14 and 25 are preferably initially formed as shown in FIGURE 4, wherein the portion 19 of the front member 14 has substantially the configuration shown in full lines at 43 so that when the depending portion 26 is secured in the slot 16 and before the seat member is in place the portion 20 is close to the portion 25. To insert the seat member the portion 29 must be swung out away from the portion 20 so that it becomes biased.

When the parts are formed, a groove 42 may be arranged in the depending portion 25 to receive a projection 44 on the rear portion 15.

In assembly the portions 14 and 15 are separated and the depending portion 26, treated with suitable adhesive, is moved into the slot 16 until the projection 44 enters the groove 42. The parts 14 and 15 are then released and the head 12 becomes mounted upon the handle with the shoulder 22 engaging the shoulder 27.

The blade seat member 40 (best shown in FIGS. 2 and 3) previously mentioned may be made of metal or one of the plastics mentioned above or of other suitable plastic. As shown, the seat includes a blade receiving seat portion 45 and a depending rear portion 46 arranged substantially at right angles to the seat portion. The portion 46 is for engagement with a cam (to be later described) on a blade magazine. From the seat portion 45 a pair of spaced lugs 47 project upwardly and against these earners lugs the front corner edges of the blade 38 engage. The rear edge of the blade is engaged by the push pin 36 previously mentioned. There is a central slot 4? at the juncture of the seat portion 45 and the depending portion 46. This slot receives the push pin 36 when there is no blade in the razor.

The forward edge of the seat portion extends dwnwardly to provide a guard 48 and the seat portion ncludes a transversely extending slot 49a through Wl'llCh. the shaved whiskers and soap pass during shaving operation. The lower end of the depending portion 46 is free. The blade seat member swings back and forth above the shoulder 18 previously mentioned. The depending portion 46 has a tapered groove 50 in its rear face. The groove 50 extends a short distance and receives a cam 51 on the finger 32 of the blade magazine 33.

The depending portion 46 has a forwardly extending protuberance 52 thereon. The protuberance is shown as having a rectangular front portion to provide a shoulder including a lower corner or abutment 53 which is engaged by the plane face 21 on the inclined bent portion 29 which is on the front portion 14. The arrangement of the face 21 and the corner or abutment 53 causes the depending portion 45 to be pushed rearwardly and upwardly to thereby urge the seat rearwardly and upwardly to thereby clamp the blade between the lugs 47 and the pin 36 and at the same time lift the blade seat member 40 upwardly to clamp the blade 38 against the tip 3%.

The body, handle and front portion may all be integrally molded or extruded in one piece as shown in FIG. 7. In this figure the parts corresponding to those previously described are designated by single primed reference numerals. The portion 20 is formed in the full line position shown in FIG. 4, so that the portion 20' must be moved outwardly to permit the blade seat depending portion 46' to be inserted. The portion 20 will thus be biased to urge the blade seat member rearwardly and upwardly.

In the modification shown in FIG. 8, the parts corresponding to those previously described are designated by double primed reference numerals. In this modification the body 25" which includes the handle and clamping member are like the similar parts in FIG. 1, as is the seat member 39". In the modification of FIG. 8, the projecting portion 19" with bent portion 20" is like the similar portions in FIG. 1. The lower part of the portion 14 at 60 is of reduced thickness and is secured in a recess 61 in the handle and is held in place by adhesive and/ or by a fastening member shown as a screw 62 so that it may be tightly held in place. The member 60 may be made of metal or plastic and it may be made of a material so that it may move forwardly and backwardly to a limited extent. It is biased to move rearwardly so that the portion 20" engages the corner or abutment 53" of the protuberance 52" to force the blade seat member 40 upwardly and rearwardly.

In the modification shown in FIG. 9 parts which are like those previously described are designated by triple primed reference numerals. In this modification the clamping member includes a forwardly projecting portion 29 which has a clamping tip 30' thereon. The clamping member includes the slot 31 and has a lower portion 72 which is shown as extending the full length of the handle 11". The clamping tip 30'" may be made of metal, such as stainless steel, brass or may be made of a suitable plastic. The portion 72 includes bosses 73 on the inner side thereof and these bosses may be threaded to receive screws 74 which pass through holes in the handle 11" to hold the handle against the part 72. The handle includes a front portion 19" which is similar to the part 19. The modification of FIG. 9 includes a blade seat member 40' and other parts similar to those previously described. The operation of the modification is similar to that of the razors previously described.

In all of the razors described above a new blade may be substituted for a used blade by inserting the finger of the blade magazine 32 in the slot 31 and pushing it to reduce the blade holding pressure. A blade is then advanced from the blade magazine as it pushes a used blade from the seat. Thus a new blade is placed upon the seat. The finger 32 is then withdrawn and the razor is again ready for use.

In all of the razors described above engagement of the face 21 of the front member with the corner or abutment 53 of the protuberance causes a slight lifting and rearward movement of the blade seat member to thereby urge the blade to firmly seated position.

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that the present invention provides a razor which is simple in construction, is cheap to manufacture and is high efficient for its intended purpose.

Having thus described the invention, I claim:

1. A razor including a handle having an upwardly directed front portion and a clamping member rear portion thereon, a blade seat member having a depending portion thereon, said blade seat member depending portion being movably disposed between said front portion and said clamping member rear portion, said blade seat member including a blade seat portion arranged beneath said clamping member and adapted to support a blade to be engaged by the clamping member tip, said blade seat portion including upwardly projecting spaced lugs for engagement with the forward ends of a blade on the blade seat portion, said clamping member having a stop member thereon for engagement with the rear edge of a blade on the blade seat portion, said front portion being movable to a limited extent towards and from the rear portion, said front portion being biased to move towards the clamping member rear portion, said blade seat member having a transversely extending forwardly projecting protuberance thereon, said protuberance including a lower front corner, said lower front corner being below the blade seat portion and spaced in advance of the lower portion of the blade seat member depending portion, the upper part of the front portion being directed forwardly and away from the blade seat m-emzber depending portion and positioned so that it laps and yieldingly engages the said lower corner of the protuberance on the blade seat member to thereby urge said blade seat member upwardly and rearwardly to thereby force a blade on the blade seat portion upwardly against the blade clamping tip and to simultaneously force the blade seat member rearwardly so that a blade on the seat portion and in engagement with the lugs will be forced rearwardly and will be clamped against the stop member, there being a space between said blade seat member depending portion and said clamping member rear portion for the reception of a cam finger on a blade magazine.

2. A razor including a handle having an upwardly di- 'rected front portion and a clamping member rear portion, said clamping member rear portion including a body having a forwardly projecting blade engaging portion thereon, a blade seat member including a blade seat portion and a rear portion disposed adjacent to the front of said clamping member body portion, said blade seat portion being disposed beneath said clamping member forwardly projecting blade clamping portion and being movable to a limited extent back and forth beneath said clamping member forwardly projecting blade clamping portion, said blade seat member having a transversely extending shoulder thereon, said shoulder having an abutment portion which is dis-posed belov the blade seat portion and is arranged in advance of the blade seat member rear portion, the upper end of said front portion being movable to a limited extent towards and from the clamping member body, the upper end of said front portion being biased to move rearwardly, the upper end of the front portion being positioned so that it laps and yieldingly engages the abutment portion of said shoulder on the blade seat member to thereby simultaneously urge said blade seat member rearwardly and upwardly as the front portion moves rearwardly so that a blade on the blade seat portion is urged into engagement with the blade engaging portion of the clamping member to hold the blade firmly in shaving position, there being a space at one location between said blade seat member rear portion and said clamping member body for the reception of a cam finger on a blade magazine.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,281,926 5/42 Ebelhare 30-6-2 2,799,926 7/57 Shaylor 30-63 5 3,095,645 7/63 Stahl 30-63 3,128,551 4/64 Crown 30-63 WILLIAM FELDMAN, Primary Examiner.

1O MYRON C. KRUSE, Examiner. 

1. A RAZOR INCLUDING A HANDLE HAVING AN UPWARDLY DIRECTED FRONT PORTION AND A CLAMPING MEMBER REAR PORTION THEREON, A BLADE SEAT MEMBER HAVING A DEPENDING PORTION THEREON, SAID BLADE SEAT MEMBER DEPENDING PORTION BEING MOVABLE DISPOSED BETWEEN SAID FRONT PORTION AND SAID CLAMPING MEMBER REAR PORTION, SAID BLADE SEAT MEMBER INCLUDING A BLADE SET PORTION ARRANGED BENEATH SAID CLAMPING MEMBER AND ADAPTED TO SUPPORT A BLADE TO BE ENGAGED BY THE CLAMPING MEMBER TIP, SAID BLADE SEAT PORTION INCLUDING UPWARDLY PROJECTING SPACED LUGS FOR ENGAGEMENT WITH THE FORWARD PROJECTING SPACED LUGS FOR SEAT PORTION, SAID CLAMPING MEMBER HAVING A STOP MEMBER THEREON FOR ENGAGEMENT WITH THE REAR EDGE OF A BLADE ON THE BLADE SEAT PORTION, SAID FRONT PORTION BEING MOVABLE TO A LIMITED EXTENT TOWARDS AND FROM THE REAR PORTION, SAID FRONT PORTION BEING BIASED TO MOVED TOWARDS THE CLAMPING MEMBER REAR PORTION, SAID BALDE SEAT MEMBER HAVING A TRANSVERSELY EXTENDING FORWARDLY PROJECTING PROTUBERANCE THEREON, SAID PROTUBERANCE INCLUDING A LOWER FRONT CORNER, SAID LOWER FRONT CORNER BEING BELOW THE BLADE SEAT PORTION AND SPACED IN ADVANCE TO THE LOWER PORTION OF THE BLADE SEAT MEMBER DEPENDING PORTION, THE UPPER PART OF THE FRONT PORTION BEING DIRECTED FORWARDLY AND AWAY FROM THE BLADE SEAT MEMBER DEPENDING PORTION AND POSITIONED SO THAT IS LAPS AND YIELDINGLY ENGAGES THE SAID LOWER CORNER OF THE PROTUBERANCE ON THE BLADE SEAT MEMBER TO THEREBY URGE SAID BLADE SEAT MEMBER UPWARDLY AND REARWARDLY TO THEREBY FORCE THE BLADE CLAMPING BLADE SEAT PORTION UPWARDLY AGAINST THE BLADE CLAMPING TIP AND TO SIMULTANEOUSLY FORCE THE BLADE SEAT MEMBER REARWARDLY SO THAT A BLADE ON THE SEAT PORTION AND IN ENGAGEMENT WITH THE LUGS WILL BE FORCED REARWARDLY AND WILL BE CLAMPED AGAINST THE STOP MEMEBER, THERE BEING A SPACE BETWEEN SAID BLADE SEAT MEMBER DEPENDING PORTION AND SAID CLAMPING MEMBER REAR PORTION FOR THE RECEPTION OF A CAM FINGER ON A BLADE MAGAZINE. 